Navajo

noun

Na·​va·​jo ˈna-və-ˌhō  ˈnä- 

variants or less commonly Navaho

1

plural Navajo or Navajos also Navaho or Navahos : a member of an Indigenous people of northern New Mexico and Arizona and southern Utah

2

: the language of the Navajo people

Examples of Navajo in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Navajo Nation is the lone exception in Arizona. —Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 27 Sep. 2024

The movie offers a glimpse into the immense popularity of basketball within the Navajo Nation and other tribal communities, a passion seen each year when fans fill gyms in Phoenix and New Mexico for the championship playoffs. —Arlyssa D. Becenti, The Arizona Republic, 27 Sep. 2024

Billman's father, a Navajo Code Talker in World War II and a downwinder, died from stomach cancer. —Claudia Grisales, NPR, 24 Sep. 2024

Supporters of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement wait outside the U.S. District Court in Phoenix, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024, during a hearing where Tre C. James was sentenced to life imprisonment in the fatal shooting of his girlfriend Jamie Yazzie on the Navajo Nation in 2019. —CBS News, 24 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Spanish (Apache de) Navajó, literally, Apache of Navajó, from Navajó, area occupied by Navajos, probably from Tewa (Pueblo Indian language of northern New Mexico) navahu·, literally, arroyo with planted fields

First Known Use

1808, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

Navajo

noun

Na·​va·​jo

variants also Navaho

ˈnav-ə-ˌhō  ˈnäv- 

plural Navajo or Navajos also Navaho or Navahos

: a member of an Indigenous people of northern New Mexico and Arizona